"I believe that fate is choices - it's not chance"
About this Quote
Wayne Newton’s line lands like a Vegas chorus: simple, declarative, and built to be repeated. “I believe” frames it as creed rather than argument, a personal philosophy shaped less by theory than by survival in a business where everyone is told they’re one audition away from oblivion. Then he flips the script: fate isn’t the roulette wheel; it’s the hand that keeps placing the bet.
The intent is motivational, but not the cotton-candy kind. Newton isn’t denying luck exists; he’s refusing to let luck get credit. In entertainment, “chance” is the story people tell about you when your success looks too improbable: discovered, stumbled into it, lightning strike. By insisting fate equals choices, he reclaims authorship. It’s a subtle flex, a way of saying: the polish, the repetition, the yeses, the noes, the reinventions - that’s what made the myth.
The subtext also defends longevity. A career like Newton’s, built in a city that sells glamour as disposable, depends on control: choosing the room, the repertoire, the persona, the discipline behind the easy smile. “Fate” becomes a brand narrative that matches the Vegas ideal - destiny manufactured nightly, on schedule.
Context matters: Newton came up in mid-century showbiz, where gatekeepers were real and randomness was brutal. The quote works because it offers dignity without pretending the system is fair. It’s not naïve optimism; it’s a performer’s insistence that agency is the only story worth living inside.
The intent is motivational, but not the cotton-candy kind. Newton isn’t denying luck exists; he’s refusing to let luck get credit. In entertainment, “chance” is the story people tell about you when your success looks too improbable: discovered, stumbled into it, lightning strike. By insisting fate equals choices, he reclaims authorship. It’s a subtle flex, a way of saying: the polish, the repetition, the yeses, the noes, the reinventions - that’s what made the myth.
The subtext also defends longevity. A career like Newton’s, built in a city that sells glamour as disposable, depends on control: choosing the room, the repertoire, the persona, the discipline behind the easy smile. “Fate” becomes a brand narrative that matches the Vegas ideal - destiny manufactured nightly, on schedule.
Context matters: Newton came up in mid-century showbiz, where gatekeepers were real and randomness was brutal. The quote works because it offers dignity without pretending the system is fair. It’s not naïve optimism; it’s a performer’s insistence that agency is the only story worth living inside.
Quote Details
| Topic | Free Will & Fate |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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